1. British Business Bank ups its stake in Welsh firms
The UK Government has increased the number of Welsh firms it holds equity stakes in under its Covid response £1.1bn Future Fund. The Future Fund provides loans to high-growth potential firms across the UK delivered via our client, the British Business Bank, and has seen the number of firms converting debt into equity rising to 337, eight of which are based in Wales: Hydro Industries, Riversimple, We Build Bots, Delio and Calon Cardio Technology, to name a few.
We secured coverage on the latest Future Fund figures and the new Welsh companies added to the list in the Western Mail, Business Live and Business News Wales.
2. Celebrating National Gardening Week with Terry Walton and PestSmart
To mark National Gardening Week and to encourage people to engage with Welsh Water’s PestSmart campaign, we created Q&A content for Instagram Stories with BBC gardening expert and PestSmart ambassador Terry Walton who answered followers’ questions about weed and pest control. Head to Welsh Water’s Instagram to see them over the weekend.
3. Announcing the finalists for Wales’ first cancer awards
The Moondance Cancer Awards will be Wales’ first awards dedicated to celebrating the nation’s pioneers for their achievements and innovations in cancer services. This week we announced the 62 shortlisted finalists across 11 categories, selected from a total of 125 nominations. June’s awards aim to celebrate and spotlight people across NHS Wales and its partners who have maintained and innovated cancer services despite the extraordinary circumstances of the last two years. The shortlist has so far been covered in the South Wales Echo, the South Wales Evening Post and on Wales 247 and social content has been shared widely.
4. Final episode of our BBC Sounds series with Michael Sheen
The last episode (for now!) of our podcast for BBC Sounds aired this week. Margins to Mainstream with Michael Sheen spotlights 11 writers from underrepresented backgrounds, and in episode ten, Michael introduces Anna Maxwell, a new writer based in Lancaster, and her mentor, the playwright Siân Owen. Host Sheen explores British theatre’s relationship with working class writers, before performing an extract from Anna’s monologue Square Peg in front of a live audience at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. The series was written and produced by our team, highlighting New Writing North’s A Writing Chance scheme. Look out for some very special bonus episodes later this year. Available now on BBC Sounds.
5. New look, same strategic storytelling
Over the past few months our design team have been hard at work on something other than client campaigns: a new visual identity for our brand.
New look. Same strategic storytelling. We’ve also built a brand-new website to match, and one that we’re really proud of. Take a look around the rest of our site to see it in full action.